


Solsbury Hill

by Tinned_Beans



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 40s AU, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Ice Cream, M/M, Music, god tiger tail is such a weird flavour, no WW2, sorry - Freeform, very bad geography, who does that!?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29984337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinned_Beans/pseuds/Tinned_Beans
Summary: Steve meets Bucky in Prospect Park - New york. Bucky plays guitar, Steve decides to draw him. Can be read as platonic friends seeing as it's 40s America, but hey - we like the gay.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Kudos: 5





	Solsbury Hill

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song (I get most of my inspiration from music) Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel - he's got quite a lot of good songs, but this is my favourite. I really hope I've got the geography right - I had to do a ton of searching and used google maps because I don't live in the US.

Bucky had always loved playing guitar. His father had taught him when he was young - they used to play together after his father had come back from a term in the army. Bucky had always found it relaxing, and he started playing even more after his father's death.

On weekends he liked to sit in the local park and listen to other musicians busking. He was always there and had become quite good friends with a few of them. After his father died he had asked one of them if he could come and play some time, that was a few years ago though. Now every Saturday he and Rob would meet at the Grand Army Plaza at the corner of Prospect park and play together.

\----------------

Steve was bored. It was warm, and it was Saturday, and he was bored because Jack had gone out for the day with his girlfriend leaving Steve with nothing to do. He thought about cooking, but it was too warm and he had nothing in the cupboards other than some congealed milk from last week and a jar of mustard. He'd read the newspaper, and there was no point in doing the crossword because he never understood the clues. He thought about drawing, but he had no inspiration - he'd been having a kind of artist's block the past few days. After snoozing on the couch for an hour or so he decided to get off his lazy ass and go to the park to see if he could find anything to draw.

\----------------

It was warm, but there was a cool breeze so it wasn't unbearable. Wandering through the park he hear someone playing 'Star Dust' by Artie Shaw. The trumpet melody was slightly off, but it was played confidently and still made an uplifting swinging sound. Walking towards the music Steve saw two men playing together, one on the trumpet and the other strumming softly on the guitar.

The guitarist caught Steve's eye. He had and angular jaw, but soft eyes and fluffy brown hair. He was grinning slightly - amused at the off key trumpet - and swaying gently to the music. Every so often the trumpet player would shoot a glare at the smirking guitarist and the tempo would increase fractionally.

Sitting down on the bench opposite, Steve started to draw the guitarist. The music was calming and actually served as great inspiration. He didn't realise how much time he'd spent trying to perfect the way the guitarist's shirt hung over his slim but muscular frame and the folds in the fabric until the music stopped, and he looked up to see the sky turning a peachy orange.

He stopped drawing to watch he two men pack up, however just as he was starting to slip off into a day dream the guitarist began to approach him.

\----------------

Rob and Bucky started packing up when the sun started setting. Much as they enjoyed playing Rob was getting hoarse, and he needed to tune his trumpet. Bucky smirked at this thought.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah - don't think I didn't see that grin. I'm tunin' the trumpet tonight ok. You didn't have to pick all those songs with high notes either..." _Warble warble....._

Bucky was more interested in the guy on the bench opposite. This guy had been sitting there for 3 hours now, occasionally glancing up at him, and then looking back down and scribbling furiously. The guy was now watching them pack up, the notebook open on his lap and the pencils had rolled onto the floor. _Maybe I should say hello?_

\----------------

"Hey, you've been here a while now - watcha been doin'?" Bucky asked.

"Oh, uh, not a lot.... Just some sketching." Steve blushed slightly and snapped the notebook shut. It wasn't normal to draw randoms people in the first place, but it was especially bad went you highlighted their muscular form under that oh-so-thin shirt and added just a little too much suggestion to that smirk. _I'm gonna get the ass-kicking of a life time._

"Can I see? I mean - s'fine if you don't want me to, just, you kept glancin' up at me, that's all."

_Oh this is just great. He noticed. I can't show him. I don't care how much he gives me that beautiful smile...  
_

"I'd prefer it if you didn't, it's not a great sketch. I'll probably just throw it away." _Or hide it under the materess, because I am never throwing that sketch away. I did too well on the trouser fabric._

"It's a shame. You spent a lotta time on it - the better part of 3 hours actually...." the guitarist frowned slightly.

"It's really not that good..."

"I'm sure it looks just fine. The name's Bucky by the way, maybe I'll see ya round?"

"Oh, I'm Steve, it was nice meeting you."

\----------------

After that Steve avoided the park for a while. He was worried he'd embarrassed himself and he didn't want to accidentally run into Bucky again. He kept the drawing though - definitely not under the matress - and would occasionally stare at it. Sometimes for hours. He'd really managed to capture Bucky's eyes, and they were absolutely captivating. _That's normal - right?_

Meanwhile, Bucky missed Steve. It sounded weird, he may have just met the guy, but he'd liked Steve. He had been secretly hoping that Steve would come back to draw again.

\----------------

Steve couldn't take it anymore. He kept looking at the drawing but he wanted to go back and see Bucky again. He wasn't sure why though.

He got off the sofa. Its a Saturday, maybe Bucky will be at the plaza again. _Hopefully._

\----------------

It was colder this weekend. It had been about a month since the sketching incident and autumn had snuck up on everyone. As Steve walked to the other side of the park the wind whipped around him, pushing him towards Bucky it felt, and the leaves danced in time to the music that he played.

When he got to the plaza, only the trumpet player was there this time. Steve waited patiently for him to finish the song before walking over.

"Hey, uh, sorry if I'm interrupting, but do you know where Bucky is?" Steve asked tentatively.

"Sure, he's at home, you know him?"

"Uh, yeah, a bit. I was just wondering when I'd next hear him play, that's all."

"Ohh, good luck with that." Rob grinned sarcastically. "He's been at home sulking for the past 2 days."

"W-why?"

"Oh, the corner store at the end of his road closed. It sold his favourite flavour of ice-cream."

Steve burst out laughing. Then, looking at Rob's straight face, stopped.

"You're serious?!"

"Yeah.... Welcome to life with Bucky."

"What's his favourite flavour?"

"Tiger Tail - liquorice and orange swirled together - it's a Canadian thing. They're nuts up there, but Bucky likes the stuff and this shop was the only place 'round here that sold it."

"Is there anywhere nearby that sells it?" Bit of a weird question, but Steve decided better to be out on a limb than to be starring longingly at it while eating cold beans from a can in his living room.

"Yeah, there's a place upstate in Queens - Jahn's - it's quite a ways though..."

"Don't worry. What's Bucky's address? I'll see if I can coax him out," Steve laughed softly and Rob joined in.

Luckily, Rob gave the address out with out too many awkward questions, and seemed to jump at any method to get Bucky playing again. Getting the icecream proved more difficult though. There was a long queue for such a popular shop, and the icecream went a bit gloopy on the train back.

\----------------

After ringing the door bell and getting no reply, Steve banged on the door. He heard a pathetic groan, and then someone yell from inside "it's open..."

Walking in Steve was met with a slightly disheveled Bucky sprawled over the sofa. His trousers were rolled up and his shirt was unbuttoned. There was a newspaper next to the sofa with a huge pencil scrawl through the crossword section, and an empty bottle of apple juice, the cap discarded over the other side of the room.

On seeing Steve, Bucky leapt up; stuttering a hello as he frantically buttoned up his shirt. Steve turned around almost immediately, trying to hide the pink mess spreading across his cheeks and the uncontrolable tremble in his right leg.

"Hey, uh, sorry for bursting in on you, I'm not sure what I was thinking actually, err, I met Rob in the park and he said a thing about icecream, and I know people don't normally do this, sorry, uh, just, here, I got this, Rob said you liked it ...." Steve started rambling, making Bucky grin slightly.

"Sure, it's a little weird," he said, cutting Steve's monologue short, "but I'm never one to turn down free icecream."

Steve grinned at this - Bucky's open manner putting him at ease. "You wanna get bowls then, or are we eating from the tub?"

"Considering I haven't left the house in 2 days, and I have no clean bowls left, I think this is a tub job." Bucky said grabbing 2 spoons from the kitchen. "Holy shit - you found tiger tail! Where did you get it?"

Steve started to panic - a half hour train journey to get icecream for a guy you've only ever talked to once is definitely crossing the weird line into complete crazy territory.

"Oh that's not important, it wasn't that far."

"Are you kidding?! This is my favourite flavour - and considering you got this Rob told you what happened - and I need my weekly supply. Where did you find it?!"

"Oh, just some place upstate in Queens. It wasn't that far..." Steve trailed off as Bucky's face fell a little.

"You went all the way to Jahn's to get me icecream?"

"Well, yeah, uh, Rob said you were sad so I said I'd try to 'coax you back out'. He misses playing with you I think... and I miss hearing you play." Steve got progressively quieter, starring intently at the ground at the last sentence.

"Well, thanks, that's really sweet. I'll tell Rob mission accomplished - I'll definitely be at the park next Saturday."

Bucky handed Steve a spoon and they sat down to dig into the tub. It was a little awkward at first - Steve was still confused at how unphased Bucky seemed to be about the ice-cream, and Bucky was very confused about Steve's motives. However, after some small talk the two got into the subject of music and started chatting like old friends.

Towards the end of the tub they fell into a comfortable silence. Bucky was scrapping the carton out, and Steve took the opportunity to study his face. He wanted to remember it as accurately as possible so he could draw it later. He quickly glanced away when Bucky looked up.

"This, uh, this was fun." Bucky smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, we should do this again maybe." Steve said.

"I'd like that."

They locked eyes for a few seconds, before Steve turned away to grab his coat off the back of the chair.

"I'll see you next Saturday then," Steve said.

Holding the door open, "see you soon," Bucky replied.

\----------------

Steve heard the door click shut behind him. Could have gone worse - a lot worse. Walking down the street back to his apartment he felt a growing anticipation for next Saturday.


End file.
